Some of the most popular villains in video game history are tools for great storytelling. Their background can sometimes become the basis for incredible discussions. A few times, antagonists can even outshine the main characters.
In the following list, we take a look through video game history and talk about some of the most popular villains ever created.
The best villains in video games
Albert Wesker (Resident Evil)
The Resident Evil series is no stranger to the video game community. Everyone has played it at least once or has brushed by it. Resident Evil is one of the pillar franchises of the survival horror game genre.
The plot deals with the usual zombie outbreak in a fictional city. This occurred due to the hazardous experiments by a global conglomerate, The Umbrella Corporation. The events that follow string in some important characters who have become fan favorites.
One of them is the prime antagonist of the series, Albert Wesker. His idea of creating a superior race of beings using the progenitor virus led to some of the best storylines.
Albert Wesker even appeared as a playable fighter in Capcom’s versus fighting game series. He is definitely one of the most popular villains in video game history.
Dr. Eggman (Sonic)
The Sonic franchise is one of the most popular platforming game series in the world. It follows the adventures of the world’s fastest blue hedgehog and his friends. Most of the time, they are saving the world from the evil plans of the series’ staple antagonist, Dr. Eggman.
He is originally known as Dr. Ivo Robotnik and is one of the most brilliant minds in the world. Eggman is the textbook definition of a video game villain, as his goal is literally world domination in order to create his empire.
The character is definitely one of the most popular video game villains in history and is an important figure for SEGA. Dr. Robotnik’s popularity has spiked even more in recent times. This is due to Jim Carrey’s portrayal of the character in the Sonic the Hedgehog live-action films.
Shang Tsung (Mortal Kombat)
Once upon a time, fighting games were a dying genre and a residue of the long-gone arcade culture. Currently, it is one of the most important types of video games that has an active esports scene.
A popular title among these fighting games is the Mortal Kombat franchise created by NRS studios. It is constantly praised for doing fighting game story building and characters right. It also probably has some of the most popular fighting game villains in existence.
One of them is the evil sorcerer Shang Tsung, who can increase his life expectancy by consuming the souls of others. His popularity has been elevated further over the years by the legendary actor Cary-Hiroyuki Tagawa in the live-action Mortal Kombat film.
Sephiroth (Final Fantasy VII)
Other than being one of the world’s most popular JRPG franchises ever, the Final Fantasy video game series has some well-written villains. If we had to pick the most popular among all of them, then it would be Sephiroth, from Final Fantasy VII.
His story is pretty interesting as he is a hero turned into a major villain. Sephiroth was a soldier and received praises throughout the lands. But he turned to the dark side once he found out that he was artificially created by Shinra Corporation using alien cells.
Sephiroth’s name will always come to everyone’s mind the moment someone brings up discussions about popular video game villains and the Final Fantasy series. He even appeared in the highly popular Nintendo platform fighter, Super Smash Bros.
Bowser (Super Mario)
If we had to pick a popular antagonist that represents Nintendo as a whole, then it would definitely be Bowser. The King of Koopas and the world’s most feared fire-breathing monster with a turtle shell have terrorized kids since the original Super Mario Bros.
The story behind the creation of Bowser comes from the brilliant mind of game developer Shigeru Miyamoto. He based the character around the bull demon from the epic, Journey to the West.
One thing that sets Bowser apart from other popular villains in this list is that he is not always the antagonist. He sometimes teams up with Mario and Luigi when their goals are aligned. In general, Bowser is definitely a villain with the most approachable personality ever in video game history.
Ganon (Legend of Zelda)
Ganon is probably the second most popular Nintendo villain, right next to Bowser. But make no mistake, he is not an approachable antagonist. Ganon is the embodiment of evil down to a tee in the Legend of Zelda games.
His full name is Ganondorf, and he always goes through different types of depictions throughout different games in the franchise. Ganon is a demonic entity in the overall Legend of Zelda mythos, and an eternal enemy to Link and his friends.
Chronologically, Ganon’s first appearance was in the Legend of Zelda: Skyward Sword game as Demon King Demise. After his defeat, he cursed Link and his descendants to face Ganon’s wrath forever and after.
G-Man (Half Life)
This is going to be a debatable take on this list, not because we think G-Man is not popular. It’s more about how people look at him, and some may not consider him the main antagonist.
G-Man is overall a very mysterious figure, and opinions about him being an overarching villain is a grey area for discussions. But it doesn’t change the fact that he is a pretty popular character in the history of video games. People really want to see his story through, that is if Valve ever makes Half Life 3.
The first appearance of G-Man was in the first Half Life game back in 1998. He appeared as a mysterious bureaucratic figure carrying a briefcase. Fans of the series slowly learn that he is a manipulative figurehead who is pulling strings in the narrative.
Vass Montenegro (Far Cry 3)
The thing about Vass is that he might be the only villain in this whole list who is more popular than the video game itself. Because there were a lot of people back in 2012 who never knew about Far Cry 3. But they made sure to use Vass’s quotes and image on social media.
The Far Cry franchise has always had an overarching main antagonist, but the 3rd game was exceptionally special because of Vass. The game takes place on a fictional island in the tropical regions.
Vass was the psychotic pirate with a violent history who mirrored the main protagonist as a typical villain. Far Cry has had several antagonists in later games, some of whom were portrayed by notable actors. But none were able to capture the fans’ hearts as much as Actor Michael Mando did as Vass.
Lich King/Arthas Menethil (World of Warcraft)
World of Warcraft is one of the biggest MMO franchises in the whole world. Even though there are lots of alternatives in the genre nowadays. One cannot overlook the contributions that this massive multiplayer title made to video games as a medium.
One of the most important expansions that WoW ever got was the Wrath of the Lich King expansion, released back in 2008. It created one of the most popular villains in MMO history, elevating storytelling for ongoing multiplayer games to new heights.
Arthas Menethil was an important character in the WoW story. A Crown Prince and a paladin with an insatiable desire to protect everyone from the plague.
But unfortunately, he succumbed to corruption, eventually transforming into the Lich King. He turned into the destroyer of the very people he sought to protect.
Dracula (Castlevania)
Most people don’t know, but Bram Stoker’s supernatural novel, Dracula, was a romance novel more than horror. But that is besides the point, as it became the basis for one of the most revolutionary side-scroller franchises in existence.
Castlevania games took the lore of Dracula, originating from the historical Romanian figure, Vlad Dracul, and elevated it to a new dynamic. From the pages of a novel, Dracula became one of the most popular villains in the history of video games.
In the games, Dracula’s origin can be traced back to the human, Mathias Cronqvist. He makes a deal with death, transforming him into the Lord of Vampires after the death of his wife.
Notable vampire hunters such as the Blemonts have been fighting Dracula through generations. Even after being defeated several times, he keeps coming back every time to challenge the characters.
